Love LIKE JESUS
It is always good to have a role model in life.
I always looked up to my parents and then to my leaders at church when I was at high school.
Who do I look up to now? Jesus. He is the ultimate role model, the best teacher, the best mentor. He loves perfectly.
What is it that Jesus did on the earth to show this? I’m sure you know.
Jesus cared about people so much that he taught them, he healed them, cast out demons and raised people from death to life.
But the best thing Jesus ever did was die on the cross for our sins.
Bible Passage: John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Bible Passage: 1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ”
What do you think?
Try to think now of someone you know who is generous with their time and money.
Think of someone who might continually be giving things to you, buying you things, spending time playing with you, take you special places - a play at the park, for a swim, a bike ride.
Maybe they tidy up your messes with you or for you. They might do it and you might not even notice! (I used to come home from school to a tidy house and didn’t think twice about how it got so clean!)
Maybe they look after you when you’re not feeling well, taking you to the doctor, or dentist or speech therapist, in order to help you improve.
Maybe they ask you to do jobs and teach you how to do things, even things that you don’t really want to learn, but they do it because they love you and they know it’s a skill you are going to need for life.
Can you think of someone?
Do you think that this person would die for you if the need arises?
Bible Passage: John 15:13
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
I’m thinking you might be thinking of your mum or dad, maybe a grandparent.
I know that I would take a bullet for my kids.
Jesus is like that. He cares about us so much that he would die for us and more!
Jesus loved in all kinds of ways. Some may have felt more loved than others. What we do know, is that God fixed their bodies and healed their ailments, only to then go, get old and die eventually.
We know that Jesus’ sacrificing his own life for the sake of us was the ultimate act of love.
Bible Passage: John 15:9-13
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Love like Jesus. Can we actually do this? Can we heal people, teach people, die on the cross for people’s sins? No. But we can have a caring and generous heart like Jesus.
Give up your own life. It is not important. Serve others in life. Put others first. Love. This is the summary of what God wants of us.
Story Time!
Growing up we had to do jobs. Every weekend.
We had to do jobs because we didn’t just help out.
We continued to have mandatory allocated jobs until we moved out and we were well into our 20s.
I thought because I brought the dry washing in every now and then that I was helping out and very generous.
Bible Passage: Philippians 2:3-8
“Consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought:
Christ was truly God.
But he did not try to remain
equal with God.
Instead he gave up everything
and became a slave,
when he became
like one of us.
Christ was humble.
He obeyed God and even died
on a cross.”
Jesus heart is perfect and pure. He is sinless. Let’s live our lives with Jesus as our goal and work towards being like him as much as we can.
Question Time!
What is the most loving thing anyone (other than God) has ever done for you?
How can you love like Jesus in your life?
